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gregmaly

Can my infant daughter have allergy to those plants?

gregmaly
10 years ago

My daughter has rash all over her body. Pediatrician told me that it could be caused by anything including houseplants. Could you please identify plants in the pictures. I need to find out if they can cause allergy. Link to pictures is at the bottom if the pictures do not show up in the post.

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic2_zps7a45ff15.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic2_zps7a45ff15.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic1_zps83f58c78.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic1_zps83f58c78.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic6_zps82d58501.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic6_zps82d58501.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic5_zps5658c63f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic5_zps5658c63f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic4_zps9b17a9c5.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic4_zps9b17a9c5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s999.photobucket.com/user/George_Skorupa/media/plants/pic3_zpse6e90e67.jpg.html][IMG]http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af113/George_Skorupa/plants/pic3_zpse6e90e67.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant pictures

Comments (11)

  • theplantwizard
    10 years ago

    Plant #2 is a Deiffenbachia, the sap of which is very commonly associated with contact allergies, and can be very detrimental to children if ingested.

  • missingtheobvious
    10 years ago

    And you will find much more info about Plant #2 if you use the spelling Dieffenbachia.

  • Iris GW
    10 years ago

    When you say "infant" daughter, what age do you mean? Is it possible that she has actually come into contact with these on her own?

  • gregmaly
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you for all responses. My daughter is 4 months old. The rash started on her cheeks about 2 months ago and disappeared after about a week. Than it reappeared and started spreading. She never had direct contact with the plant, but it is possible that we could have touched it and than transferred it to her. I tried to find some info if pollen could have caused it. What are your opinions? I found that some plants can cause airborne contact dermatitis, but nothing on this particular plant. All plants are out of the house right now, hopefully it will improve. Thanks again.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    i am surprised your dr has left it to you .. and GW ... to ID a potential allergen ...

    in PBucket.. use the HTML code ... inserted as you did above.. on preview.. if you see it.. we will see it ...

    ken

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    I've investigated dermatitis from house plants fairly extensively and none of the plants in your pics are known to cause casual contact dermatitis.

    Dracaena, Dieffenbachia, Aglaonema or another Dieffenbachia.

    The latter two are Aroids, known for containing irritating alkaloids, but shouldn't bother anyone if the plant is not ruptured so the sap is exposed (according to the research I've done and anecdotes I've read.) The Dief is known to be irritating to mouth, lips if sap comes in contact with these areas. The sap of the Aglaonema could give someone a rash similar to poison ivy where sap has gotten on skin. None of these plants would have produced any pollen without a flower that you would have noticed. It's fairly rare for any of them to make a flower in the captivity of a pot.

    I've always had plants in the house even when there were babies here. Even if they are considered benign regarding poisoning from ingestion or contact dermatitis, plants and babies/small kids don't mix, just from the possibility of a big dirty mess. As long as they can be kept separate, no problem, though removing them from your home does eliminate any possibility of some kind of accident.

    IMO, your investigation into these plants is smart, but not the cause of whatever is irritating your baby. You've probably already thought of this, but I would be looking at cleaning/laundry products. Possibly a stuffed toy. Any pets? They can bring irritating substances inside on their fur.

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    10 years ago

    i am surprised your dr has left it to you .. and GW ... to ID a potential allergen ...

    I'm with ken. Find a better doctor.

  • gregmaly
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for all responses. We have changed laundry detergents and currently use soap flakes for all items in the house. All cosmetics are hypoallergenic and limited to minimum. We changes clothes, mattress, basically everything we could think of. No pets in the house. My wife excluded all allergenic foods from her diet.The only thing left were plants. We saw four different doctors including dermatologist and allergist. All had different opinions, so we combined advise and follow all of them. The test for allergy can be done after she will be 6 months old.

    We noticed that the "toxic" plants sometimes had some droplets on leaves. Was it the sap? We will see how it will turnout after removing plants.

    Thank you for taking your time for posts. Have a Happy Holiday.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Many plants guttate (water drips from the leaves.) Everything I've ever read about it says it's not harmful, even coming from plants that have sap that give some people a rash, and not the same as the plants' sap. It's supposed to be just water. It can leave spots on wood furniture though. Hope you figure it out (or that the rash just doesn't appear again if not) & have a happy holiday too!

  • surya55_gw
    10 years ago

    I hope you and your wife are able to figure out just what's causing the rash really soon and do have a happy holiday season!

  • Bookwoman
    10 years ago

    I'm wondering if it's eczema, rather than a contact dermatitis. In infants eczema often starts on the face, can wax and wane, and then shows up on other parts of the body. Keeping her skin well-moisturized with something like Eucerin (after checking with your doctor, of course) can help a great deal.

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